Cleaning device



A ril 23, 1963 B. c. voLTz CLEANING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 20, 1959 April 23, 1963 B. c. VOLTZ 3,086,538

CLEANING DEVICE Filed May 20, 1959' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENITOR AT raeA/Eys.

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United States Patent 3,086,538 CLEANING DEVICE Bernard C. Voltz, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to Ransoholf Company, Hamilton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed May 20, 1959, Ser. No. 814,499 8 Claims. (Cl. 134111) This invention relates to cleaning devices and more particularly, the invention relates to apparatus and the method for removing carbon and other deposits from engine parts.

The cleaning of carbon from engine parts and the like has been notoriously difficult. The comparatively insoluble quality of the carbon and its unusually fast adherence to the metallic surface of the engine part have contributed to the difficulty which attends the cleaning of such parts.

I have found that satisfactory cleaning can be effected by the hydraulic action of a cleaning fluid of suitable chemical composition moving at a selected velocity onto the engine parts. Under these conditions, the cleaning fluid tends to dissolve the resinous binder which secures the carbon particles to the surface; and thereafter to float the carbon away from the parts.

The development of apparatus which will impart satisfactory velocity to a cleaning fluid has presented prob- Some of the difliculties reside in the fact that known liquid impellers cannot be used in a known manner for two reasons. First, such impellers which would impart a high enough velocity to a cleaning liquid to effeet the erosion of the carbon material within a reasonably short time, would be of excessive size and would require excessive power for their operation. Second, and per haps more important, accepted practices in the use of such impellers would suggest that an impeller be disposed in a tank of cleaning fluid and operated from a shaft passing through the wall of the cleaning tank, the shaft being driven by a suitable motor. This design requires a packing to prevent the passage of cleaning fluid through the wall of the tank through which the impeller shaft-passes. Any organic packings would be subject to the corrosive action of the active cleaning fluid and would not satisfactorily stand up under the conditions of use. As a consequence, prior art cleaning tanks of generally the same type as the present invention utilize an air seal about the impeller shaft. The air seal requires a compressor which in turn requires additional power not used for cleaning, and gives rise to additional maintenance problems. Still further, a power failure would destroy such an air seal and would permit the cleaning fluid to drain from the tank.

It has been an objective of my invention to provide a cleaning tank having associated therewith means for imparting a high velocity to a cleaning fluid without requiring a rotating shaft to pass through a wall into the tank.

It has been still another objective of my invention to impart to a cleaning fluid a violent turbulence in which all portions of a cleaning fluid are in constant highvelocity cleaning fluid so that the degree of turbulence imparted to the cleaning fluid can be selectively determined. Thus, when comparatively light parts are to be cleaned or when abrading of the parts by particulate matter occurring in the cleaning solution is to be avoided, the turbulence of the cleaning fluid can be markedly reduced without regulation of the speed of the impeller means.

It has been still another objective of my invention to provide a nozzle through which cleaning fluid may be driven into a tank, the nozzle having a peripheral discharge orifice through which a conical high velocity stream of cleaning fluid is injected into the tank and a central return port through which the cleaning fluid passes back into a sump adjoining the tank.

It has been another objective of the invention to provide a nozzle of the type described above comprising a tube passing from the cleaning chamber to the sump chamber and forming a return port, and a convergent-divergent ring surrounding the tube and forming with the tube an annular discharge port through which a conical stream of cleaning fluid can be directed.

It has been another objective of the invention to construct the nozzle so that the size of the peripheral orifice can be adjusted. The adjustability of the nozzle is attained by slidably mounting a generally conical or flaring constrictor or deflector on the end of the central return port. The outer surface of the deflector corresponds to the inner surface of the divergent portion of the convergent-divergent ring. By movement of the defiector relative to the convergent-divergent ring, the peripheral opening through which cleaning fluid is discharged can be constricted or opened. Further, the use of a flaring deflector assures full use of the discharged fluid for agitation around the parts to be cleaned by avoiding short circuiting of cleaning fluid from the peripheral opening directly back to the return port.

It has been still another objective of the invention to provide a method of imparting great turbulence to a liquid comprising the steps of expelling the liquid into a tank in a conical stream and withdrawing the liquid from the tank through the center of the conical stream to form a flow pattern throughout the chamber.

It has been another objective of my invention to provide means for periodically or continuously filtering the cleaning fluid. This objective contemplates the provision, between the impeller means and nozzle, of a shunt line having a filter associated therewith. Suitable valves are provided to permit fluid to pass through the filter continuously during the cleaning process or only at selected intervals. It should be noted that this objective is particularly easily attained by the fact that the cleaning fluid is circulated from sump to nozzle. By way of contrast, such an adaptation is not possible in systems utilizing an impeller disposed in the cleaning tank itself.

These and other objectives of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tank employing a single nozzle.

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view partly in elevation through the center of the tank of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a tank employing two nozzles.

FIG. 4- is a front elevational view of the nozzle structure.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along lines 5'-5 thereof.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a modified tank design employing my invention.

In the application of the invention it should be understood that there probably will be a line of perhaps five or more of tanks constructed in accordance with the invention, and a conveyor system for transporting baskets of parts to be cleaned to selected tanks. Each tank will contain a fluid adapted to perform a particular function.

For example, alternate tanks may contain a plain water a; rinse, while the remaining tanks will contain an organic solvent for degreasing dirt and paint removal; a methylene chloride in a crysilic acid base for carbon removal; nitric acid for scale removal, and the like.

Of particular interest is carbon removal. The physical action of carbon removal comprises the use of a solvent to dissolve the soluble binder by which the carbon is caused to adhere to the engine parts. The function of the fluid agitation system in a carbon removal tank, therefore, is to create sufficient turbulence to assure contact by the fluid of all parts, surfaces including re-entrant portions first to permit dissolution of the binder and thereafter to float the carbon particles away.

As will be demonstrated below, the particular disposition of the elements of the invention is subject to considerable variation which will depend upon many factors including the size of the tank installation desired, the power sources and the like. FIGS. 1 through 3 are principally diagrammatic illustrations of a tank utilizing one or more nozzles with the parts disposed with respect to each other in a manner which, it is believed, will best illustrate the inventive concept.

The complete tank assembly utilizing two nozzles is indicated at in FIG. 3 and includes a cleaning chamber 11 and two sump chambers 12 and 13. A removable basket 14 is disposed on a grate 15, the basket containing the parts to be cleaned.

Two nozzles 16 and 17 are mounted on the side walls 18 and 19 respectively of the cleaning chamber 11 and are directed toward the basket 14 so as to expel a high velocity cleaning fluid against the parts located in the basket. The nozzles 16 and 17 are constructed in accordance with the invent-ion and will be described in detail below. The nozzles are fed with a cleaning liquid under pressure through conduits 21 and 22 which are connected, at the upstream ends 23 and 24 thereof to centrifugal pumps 25 and 26 through valves 20. The pumps 25 and 26 may be of known design. For example, the pump of Patent No. 2,618,220 is well suited for use in the combination because of its rugged construction, its absence of packing material, and the fact that it is driven from a vertical shaft which does not require a packing between the shaft and a wall of the tank.

The pumps 25 and 26 are driven from vertical shafts 27 and 28 which derive their force from suitable power means 29 and 30. The power means may be electric motors directly driving the shafts 27 and 28, or alternatively the drive means may be a single electric motor which is belt connected to the shaft 27 and 28. The pump and drive assembly should be such as to drive of the order of 400 to 1000 gallons of cleaning fluid per minute through each nozzle 16 or 17, depending of course on the particular capacity and purpose of the tank design.

It is of course possible to supply both nozzles 16 and 17 through a single pump. The valves 20 may be used to equalize or otherwise control the discharge velocity at the respective nozzles.

The nozzle design of the invention is best illustrated in the cross sectional view of FIG. 2. The 'two principal elements of the nozzle are a tube 32 forming a return port and an annular ring 33 which surrounds the return port and forms an annular discharge opening 34 between the tube 32 and ring 33. The return port tube 32 leads directly from the cleaning chamber 11 to the sump chamber 12 and should be of suflicient cross sectional area to permit the rapid withdrawal of fluid in the tank at a rate corresponding to the input rate of the nozzle.

Surrounding the tube 32 and connected to the leading edge of the annular ring 33 is a header 35 to which the downstream end 36 of the conduit 21 is connected. The header 35 has an enlarged opening 37 by which the header communicates with the ring 33 and annular discharge passageway 34.

The particular configuration and dimension of the elements 32, 33 and 35 are subject to a considerable variation depending upon the size and shape of the tank into which the cleaning fluid is directed and depending upon the rate at which cleaning fluid is discharged through the nozzle. In cross section, the nozzle may be oval, rectangular or square for example. In a preferred form of the invention, the elements are circular in transverse cross section with the smallest inside diameter of the ring 33 being only slightly greater than the outside diameter of the tube 32. By keeping the spacing between the ring 33 and the tube 32 small, the cleaning fluid is forced through the restricted orifice at a very high volume rate which results in a conical jet-like blast of cleaning fluid out from the nozzle and against the articles contained in the basket 14. By way of example, in a nozzle designed for a flow rate of 1000 gallons per minute, an approximately 15 inch diameter tube was spaced approximately of an inch from the annular ring surrounding the tube.

The width of the discharge orifice may be made adjustable by applying the deflector structure illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 to the return port tube 32. The deflector structure comprises a flaring or conical member 38 and a cylindrical clamping member 39 integrally secured to the flaring member. The deflector has an inside diameter slightly greater than the outside diameter of tube 32 so as to be slidable on the tube 32. The clamping member 39 has three axially directed slots 40 disposed equiangularly about the member 39. Corresponding holes 41 are formed in the tube 32. A nut and bolt 43 pass through each of the respective holes and slots to provide means for clamping the deflector assembly in a selectable fixed position on the tube.

.By reference to the broken line position of the deflector, it will be observed that axial movement of the deflector will vary the degree of constriction of the discharge orifice. Preferably the degree of spacing of the flaring member from the ring 33 should have a range of to /2 inch.

By varying the size of the discharge orifice, the pattern of the fluid may be established for the configuration of the tank and location of the parts to be cleaned. By cooperating regulat-ion of valve 20, the amount of agitation can be controlled for individual loads of parts.

The deflector assembly provides the additional important function of directing the discharging fluid in a conical pattern away from the return port tube 32. Thus short circuiting a portion of the fluid from discharge directly to the return port is avoided, and all portions of the fluid are active in creating turbulence about the basket of parts to be cleaned.

By locating the return port at the center of the conical discharge stream, the cleaning fluid is forced to return through and, in doing so, sweeps across the parts to be cleaned with a high turbulence which in turn assists considerably in the eroding of the carbon material on the parts.

In operation, jet engine parts, for example, are disposed in the basket 14 and placed in the cleaning tank. A cleaning fluid of suitable chemical composition for removal of carbon from the jet engine parts fills the tank as generally indicated in FIG. 3. The power means are energized and the pump is driven at a normal velocity. The fluid in the sump is drawn up into the lower surface of the pump and driven at a high velocity through the conduit and into the header adjacent the discharge nozzle. The convergent-divergent ring causes the fluid to be directed outwardly in a conical form to impart a turbulence in the fluid surrounding the parts to be cleaned.

The removal of fluid from the sump and injection of fluid into the cleaning chamber causes a head differential between the sump and cleaning chamber which in turn causes the fluid to turn approximately 180 and to sweep back into the sump through the tube at the center of the discharge nozzles. In making the sweep, high turbulence is created throughout the cleaning chamber which assists additionally in floating the carbon deposits away from the parts to be cleaned. The high turbulence in which all portions of the cleaning fluid are moving at high velocity assures that all parts will be subject to substantially uniform cleaning action even though they may not be in direct line with the high velocity fluid stream issuing from the nozzle.

As particles are dislodged from the parts and captured by the cleaning fluid, they tend to drift downwardly through the grate 15 upon which the basket of parts rests. The grate reduces greatly the tendency of the particles to return to the area of turbulent cleaning so that the abrasive action of dislodged particles impinging on the parts is minimized.

An alternative form of the invention which operates in substantially the same manner as the embodiments of FIGS. 1-5 is shown in FIG. 6. In FIG. 6, a sump chamber 50 is disposed at the corner of the cleaning tank 51 and has a pump 52 driven by a motor 53 operating through pulleys 54 and 55, a belt 56 and vertical shaft 57. The pump 52 is of known design and preferably isv constructed as shown in Patent No. 2,618,223 whereby fluid is drawn through the lower surface thereof and is driven out under pressure through a conduit 58.

The downstream end 60 of the conduit 58 is connected to a tapered, generally rectangular, section passageway 61 which flares into a header 62 at approximately the center of the end wall 63 of the tank. -A convergentdivergent nozzle 64 is connected at its leading edge to the periphery of the header 62. A tube 65 passes concentrically through the convergent-divergent ring 64 and communicates with a fluid return chamber or conduit 66. The return chamber 66 communicates directly through the sump chamber 50.

The embodiment of FIG. 6 illustrates the convenience of application of a filtering system to the present invention. it will be observed that the filtering system is equally applicable to the embodiments previously described. A shunt conduit 69 having valves 70 and 71 is connected to the conduit 58. A valve 72 is connected in that portion of the conduit 58 by-passed by the shunt conduit so that fluid can be forced through the shunt conduit by closing valve 72. A filter 73 of known design is connected in series with the shunt conduit. A flow regulation valve 74 is provided for controlling the rate of flow through the conduit 58 directly or through the shunt conduit 69.

The system is capable of three principal modes of operation with respect to the filter. First, the filter can be bypassed completely by opening valve 72 and closing valves 70 and/or 71. This mode of operation may be desirable where :tull flow of the cleaning fluid is desired.

Second, the valve 72 may be closed and valves 70 and 71 opened to direct cleaning fluid fully through the shunt conduit 69 and filter.

The third is a combination of the first two in which valves 70, 71 and 72 are partially open to direct only a portion of the water through the filter. Thus there can be continuous filtering of the cleaning fluid without too great a sacrifice in the total flow into the discharge nozzle.

While I have, in the above description, disclosed what I deem to be practical and etficient embodiments of my invention, it should be well understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto as there might be changes made in the arrangement, disposition and form of the parts without departing from the principle of the present invention as comprehended within the scope of the accompanying claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A cleaning tank comprising, a sump chamber, a cleaning chamber adjacent said sump chamber, a tube forming a fluid return passageway between said chambers, a ring located in said cleaning chamber and surrounding at least a portion of said tube, said ring forming a peripheral discharge port with said tube, a header secured to the leading edge of said ring, a conduit connected to said header for supplying fluid thereto, a flow control valve in said conduit, and a pump disposed in said sump chamber and connected to said conduit for driving fluid from said sump chamber through said conduit to said header.

2. A cleaning tank comprising, a sump chamber, a

cleaning chamber adjacent said sump chamber, a tube forming a fluid return passageway between said chambers, a ring having a converging leading edge portion and a diverging trailing edge portion, said ring being located in said cleaning chamber and surrounding at least a portion of said tube, said ring forming an annular discharge port with said tube, a header secured to the leading edge of said ring, a conduit connected to said header for supplyingfluid thereto, and a pump disposed in said sump chamber and connected to said conduit for driving fluid from said sump chamber through said conduit to said header.

3. A cleaning tank comprising, a sump chamber, a cleaning chamber adjacent said sump chamber, a tube forming a fluid return passageway between said chambers, a ring located in said cleaning chamber and surrounding at least a portion of said tube, said ring forming an annular discharge port with said tube, and means including a pump disposed in said sump for driving fluid from said sump chamber to said annular discharge port.

4. A cleaning tank comprising, a sump chamber, a cleaning chamber adjacent said sump chamber, a tube forming a fluid return passageway between said chambers, a ring located in said cleaning chamber and surr0unding at least a portion of said tube, said ring forming an annular discharge port with said tube, a header secured to the leading edge of said ring, a main conduit connected to said header for supplying fluid thereto, a pump disposed in said sump chamber and connected to said conduit for driving fluid from said sump chamber through said conduit to said header, a filter conduit shunting at least a portion of said main conduit means, a filter in said filter conduit for filtering particulate matter from fluid passing through said filter conduit, and valve means for selectively directing fluid through said conduits.

5. Apparatus for agitating a fluid in a tank comprising a tank having a cleaning chamber, a nozzle mounted in said cleaning chamber and having an adjustable peripheral discharge passageway and a central return port disposed within said discharge passageway, a source of fluid outside said cleaning chamber, said return port being connected to said source, and conduit and pump means driving fluid under pressure from said source to said peripheral discharge passageway.

6. Apparatus for agitating a fluid in a tank comprising a tank having a cleaning chamber, a nozzle mounted in said cleaning chamber and having a pipe forming a return port, and a convergenbdivergent ring surrounding said pipe and forming a peripheral discharge port between said pipe and ring, a source of cleaning fluid outside said cleaning chamber, said return port being connected to said source, and conduit and pump means driving fluid under pressure from said source to said peripheral discharge passageway.

7. Apparatus for agitating a fluid in a tank comprising atank having a cleaning chamber, a nozzle mounted in said cleaning chamber and having a pipe forming a return port, a deflector ring mounted on said pipe, and a nozzle ring surrounding said pipe and forming a peripheral discharge port between said deflector ring and said nozzle ring, a source of cleaning fluid outside said cleaning chamber, said return port being connected to said source,

and conduit and pump means driving fluid under pres-' sure from said source to said peripheral discharge passageway.

8. Apparatus for agitating a fluid in a tank comprising a tank having a cleaning chamber, a pipe mounted in 7 said cleaning chamber and forming a return port, a de- References Cited in the file of this patent flector ring axially slidably mounted on said pipe, a con- UNITED TA AT vergent-divergent ring surrounding said pipe and forrn- 804,378 Cass Nov. 14, 1905 mg a perlpheral discharge port between said deflector 336,291 Weymar 20, 1906 ring and said convergent-divergent ring, and means for 1,892,093 B tti tella D 27, 1932 selectively fixing said deflector ring in one of a plurality 2,490,634 Keene Dec. 6, 1949 of axial positions on said pipe to vary the degree of 2,543,996 TUIIlel' Mali 1951 constriction of said peripheral discharge port, a source 2,597,916 Anderson May 1952' 2,604,386 Arant July 22, 1952 of cleaning fluid outside of said cleaning chamber, said 10 2,770,123 Walton Nov. 13, 1956 return port being connected to sand source, and conduit FOREIGN PATENTS and pump means driving fluid under pressure from said 543,995 Great Britain Mar. 23, 1942 source to said peripheral discharge port. 

1. A CLEANING TANK COMPRISING, A SUMP CHAMBER, A CLEANING CHAMBER ADJACENT SAID SUMP CHAMBER, A TUBE FORMING A FLUID RETURN PASSAGEWAY BETWEEN SAID CHAMBERS, A RING LOCATED IN SAID CLEANING CHAMBER AND SURROUNDING AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID TUBE, SAID RING FORMING A PERIPHERAL DISCHARGE PORT WITH SAID TUBE, A HEADER SECURED TO THE LEADING EDGE OF SAID RING, A CONDUIT CONNECTED TO SAID HEADER FOR SUPPLYING FLUID THERETO, A FLOW CONTROL VALVE IN SAID CONDUIT, AND A PUMP DISPOSED IN SAID SUMP CHAMBER AND CONNECTED TO SAID CONDUIT FOR DRIVING FLUID FROM SAID SUMP CHAMBER THROUGH SAID CONDUIT TO SAID HEADER. 